Meanwood

Last updated

Meanwood
Meanwood Institute.jpg
Meanwood Institute and 19th century terraced houses
Leeds UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Meanwood
West Yorkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Meanwood
Location within West Yorkshire
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LEEDS
Postcode district LS6, LS7,
Dialling code 0113
Police West Yorkshire
Fire West Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°49′55″N1°33′51″W / 53.8320°N 1.5642°W / 53.8320; -1.5642 Coordinates: 53°49′55″N1°33′51″W / 53.8320°N 1.5642°W / 53.8320; -1.5642

Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

Contents

The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.

Origins and history

The name Meanwood goes back to the 12th century, and is of Anglo-Saxon derivation: the Meene wude was the boundary wood of the Manor of Alreton, the woods to the east of Meanwood Beck. [1] Dwellings and farms near the wood were known by a variety of names including Meanwoodside until 27 August 1847 when the parish of Meanwood was established [1] and the woods became known Meanwood Woods.

A skirmish, between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces, took place in Meanwood, during the Civil War. It is said that the "beck ran red", with the blood of the fallen, hence, the place name "Stainbeck". [2]

The Meanwood Valley was a place of industry as long ago as 1577 and it continued to the 19th century. The Meanwood Beck provided water and power for corn, flax and paper mills, dye works and tanneries. There were numerous quarries. [1]

In 1830 a turnpike road was established through the Meanwood Valley to Leeds. Public transport followed from 1850 and electric trams in 1890, meaning that it was practical for people to travel to work from greater distances, encouraging both industrial buildings and housing. [1]

Geography and buildings

Tunnel How Hill

Tunnel How Hill, north of the Stonegate Road, "was reputed to be the highest point in Leeds." A folly in the form of a ruined castle stood there from the 18th century until 1946, dedicated to King Alfred. [3] Some streets adjacent to the hill are named after King Alfred.

The hill was formerly known as Pen-how-fyn, and a hamlet below it was Paenfynaen (where fynaen means settlement). It was referred to as Penny Fun in the 19th century and several houses in the vicinity used the name. [4] The 1850 Ordnance Survey Map labels the settlement as Pen-y-ffynon. [5] A public house in the Moor Allerton District Centre was called the Penny Fun until 2020, when it was renamed.

Various Buildings

Sugarwell Court SugarwellCourt1.jpg
Sugarwell Court
Former Baptist School BaptistSchoolMeanwood.jpg
Former Baptist School

The 1841 census listed 144 houses, including Carr House (Carr Manor), Meanwood Hall and Whalley House (now demolished). Most properties were stone cottages, now gone, with the exception of a few houses on Monkbridge Road. Hustler's Row remains as a group of 1850 stone cottages named after John Husler, a quarry owner. [6] To the west along the road towards Meanwood Park are some houses built for tannery workers and the Meanwood Institute, built about 1820, but opened as the Institute in 1885, a Grade II listed building. [6]

Sugarwell Court on Meanwood Road, is the former Cliff Tannery, an 1866 Grade II listed building converted into a university hall of residence. [7] Nearby is a former Baptist school, a brick Grade II listed building dating from about 1886. [8]

Meanwood Tannery blue plaque Meanwood Tannery blue plaque.jpg
Meanwood Tannery blue plaque

There are a number of 19th-century industrial buildings in Meanwood Valley along the Meanwood Beck, and 19th century terraced housing on the valley side leading to Headingley, Weetwood and Woodhouse, along with an area of woodland known locally as the Ridge.

New estates have been built with grand, suburban housing, the Woodleas, the Stonegates and the Bowoods. 20th century council housing mixed with open space forms the opposite side of the valley leading up to Scott Hall. There is a shopping centre opposite a Waitrose Food & Home store on Green Road, near the site of a tannery which is believed to date from 1700. [1]

Meanwood Hall

Meanwood Hall MeanwoodHall01.jpg
Meanwood Hall

Meanwood Hall is a grade II listed building. It was built about 1762 for Thomas Denison, extended in 1814 for Joseph Lees, and further developed in 1834 for Christopher Beckett. In 1919 it was bought by the city council to form the nucleus of Meanwood Park Hospital which accommodated men, women and children with learning disabilities. It served the city of Leeds and other areas of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and at its maximum extent in the 1960s had 841 beds. After the hospital closed in 1997, the hall was converted to housing, and further housing developments now fill the hospital grounds. [9] [10]

Meanwood Towers

Meanwood Towers, in 2017 Meanwood Towers 04 June 2017.jpg
Meanwood Towers, in 2017

In the middle of an estate of inter-war semi-detached houses behind Stonegate Road stands a Victorian Gothic house, Meanwood Towers. Designed by Edward Welby Pugin, and built in 1866–67. A private house, it was commissioned by Thomas Stuart Kennedy and was originally called Meanwood House. Kennedy commissioned the German organ-builder Edmund Schulze to build him a pipe organ. In 1869, it was installed in a specially-built 800-seat wooden concert hall or 'organ house'. [11] After eight years, there were problems with the organ house and the Schulze organ was loaned to St. Peter's Church, Harrogate and two years later, in 1879, it was sold and presented to St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley. [6] [12] In keeping with its grand design, the house was built with tall chimneys, but in 1969 these were shortened for safety reasons. [6] Most of the original house survives, but converted into flats.

Carr Manor

Carr Manor was a 17th-century manor house sometimes known as Carr House. It was greatly extended 1880-81 by architect Edward Schroeder Prior for Thomas Clifford Allbutt. [6] It was used by the City of Leeds as a residence for judges during trials at Leeds Crown Court, [6] but is now private dwellings. [13] Carr Manor gives its name to a 1950s estate of private houses [14] and a primary and high school.

Farm Hill

Early photographs show the Model Farm, which occupied the hillside, with fields in which rhubarb was grown. [15] The area also hosted Sugarwell Hill Mill which had a distinctive round chimney. [16]

Farm Hill estate Farm Hill, Meanwood.jpg
Farm Hill estate

In 1919, 80 acres of land to the south of Meanwood, close to Woodhouse Ridge, was sold by the Model Farm to Leeds Corporation. The Farm Hill housing estate was developed on the land. The area was often referred to informally as the 'white houses' because of the colour the concrete was rendered. The estate became a concentration of bad press for Meanwood very quickly. Most of the original houses were demolished in the late 1980s and many of the residents were moved to the Beckhill estate. The opening credits to police drama Parkin's Patch began with a scene shot at Farm Hill. [17]

View of Farm Hill Way and Boothroyd Drive, showing the Model Farm towards the bottom left. Meanwood Cricket Club can also be seen. Farm hill estate.jpg
View of Farm Hill Way and Boothroyd Drive, showing the Model Farm towards the bottom left. Meanwood Cricket Club can also be seen.

The area was redeveloped in 1990 as a series of two- and three-bedroom semi-detached houses and bungalows, around half of which are privately owned. A few of the original 1920s houses remain on the fringes of the estate. The Model Farm, after which the hillside and estate is named, is still standing today (situated off Farm Hill South) with a number of fields used as pasture for horses. Many of the streets in the area are still known as Farm Hill. [18] The estate also hosts the much newer Meanwood Valley Urban Farm. A network of woodland and field footpaths connect the estate to Potternewton Lane, Buslingthorpe Lane and Woodhouse Ridge.

In 2000, a further estate of residential houses was built on the opposite side of Meanwood Road, centred around Boothroyd Drive. Although the Farm Hills and Boothroyd Drive are contiguous, Meanwood Road divides the older and new estates and represents a political and postal boundary. Houses on the Farm Hill have an LS7 postcode, whilst houses on the south side of Meanwood Road have an LS6 postcode.

Woodhouse Community Sports and Social Club is sandwiched between the two developments (despite its name, the club house and pitches are in Meanwood, not Woodhouse). The club hosts cricket (Woodhouse Cricket Club) and amateur rugby league (both Headingley Hawks [19] and Woodhouse Warriors [20] ).

Religion

The Church of England parish church is Holy Trinity Church, [21] a Grade II* listed building [22] consecrated in 1849, designed by William Railton in the lancet Gothic style. [6] Its clock was designed by Edmund Beckett and made by Edward John Dent, who was responsible for Big Ben. It has three faces, as there was open country to the east. [6]

The Methodist Church was built in 1881 in a modified Gothic style, and enlarged seven years later to accommodate a further 120 seats. [6] A previous Methodist Church in Meanwood had been built in 1811. The church building was closed in October 2014 and the church community moved to use the Holy Trinity Church building. [23] The building is now used by the Iglesia ni Cristo. [24]

St Oswald's Church was built in 1890 as a chapel of ease for St Chad's of Far Headingley. It was enlarged in 1910 and made into a church, but closed in 2002 and the congregation moved to St Chad's. [25]

Meanwood Park

Meanwood Park, in the north of the area, is approximately 29 hectares (72 acres), and has large open areas and mature trees. Meanwood Beck runs through it, crossed by many small footbridges. The southern end has a children's playground and an area with picnic tables. To the north west Meanwood Park borders onto the Hollies, a separate park with sloping woodland containing many rhododendrons and azaleas. The Hollies has gardens including the National Plant Collection of Philadelphus. [26] The Meanwood Valley Trail passes through Meanwood Park. It is believed that the artist John Atkinson Grimshaw based some of his fairy paintings in Meanwood Park.[ citation needed ]

Community groups

Meanwood Valley Partnership is a not for profit organisation made up of residents and volunteers that focuses on caring for and preserving the Meanwood Valley, [27] a stretch of land approximately one mile across and two miles long. It is focused on retaining the village atmosphere and holds events such as an annual funday [28] and restoration work on projects such as the war memorial. [29]

YMAV Youth Movement Against Violence cic is a not for profit organisation which was founded in 2016 they support the victims and families affected by violence in a holistic approach providing 1-1 outreach support, counselling and holistic therapies. They also provide many community based projects running from Meanwood Community Center including a tea-time club, yoga group and have recently started a project called Restore Community Healing Garden see there website www.ymav.co.uk for more information

Sport and social activities

Numerous sporting activities exist in Meanwood, including the Meanwood Valley Trail Race (a cross country race that has been going since 1996), amateur cricket and rugby league. Meanwood Cricket Club has existed since 1870, and their present ground since 1895. [30] Meanwood Cricket Club are currently members of the Wetherby Cricket League and run 2 teams. They previously played in the Dales Council League where the club enjoyed a successful period from 1989 to 2002. The cricket club won the League Cup a then record six times - appearing in eight finals in the space of 12 years - and also claimed a League and Cup double in 1998. [31]

Notable residents

Oates Memorial sign, Memorial Drive OatesSignMeanwood.jpg
Oates Memorial sign, Memorial Drive

Captain Lawrence Oates (of the ill-fated Scott expedition to Antarctica) often resided in Meanwood. There is a monument to his altruism close to Holy Trinity Church. The Lawrence Oates School (closed 1992 [32] ) was named after him. In 2012, on the 100th anniversary of his death, a blue plaque was unveiled in his honour at Meanwood Park. [33]

Writer and critic Graham Holderness was born in Meanwood. [34]


Location grid

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headingley</span> Human settlement in England

Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunslet</span> Area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Hunslet is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Hall, Leeds</span>

Scott Hall is a suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, adjacent to Chapeltown and Meanwood. The suburb falls within the Chapel Allerton and Moortown wards of Leeds City Council. The Scott Hall estate is made up largely of 1930s council housing on both sides of Scott Hall Road from Buslingthorpe Lane in the south to Potternewton Lane in the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookridge</span> Suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England

Cookridge is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, north of the Leeds Outer Ring Road. In 1715 Ralph Thoresby described it as a village four miles from Leeds and three from Otley, dating from 1540.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middleton, Leeds</span> Suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Middleton is a largely residential suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England and historically a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is situated on a hill 4 miles (6 km) south of Leeds city centre and 165 miles (266 km) north north-west of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little London, Leeds</span> Area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Little London is a residential area of Leeds in England, north of the city centre and Leeds Inner Ring Road. It is so called because in the 19th century it had fashionable housing and interesting architecture comparable to London. In the 1950s and '60s it became largely council housing and now consists of a mixture of high and low-rise flats and housing. The area falls within the Little London and Woodhouse ward of the City of Leeds Council. The area is divided into four estates; Lovell Park, Oatlands, Carlton and the Servias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weetwood</span> Suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England

Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120, on the west by the A660, on the east by Meanwood Beck and to the south by Hollin Lane. Weetwood Lane runs north and south through it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodhouse, Leeds</span>

Woodhouse is a largely residential area just north of the city centre of Leeds and close to the University of Leeds. It is in the Hyde Park and Woodhouse ward of City of Leeds metropolitan district. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 25,914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moor Grange</span> Human settlement in England

Moor Grange Estate is a housing estate in the West Park area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which was built in the 1950s on reclaimed farmland. Work on the Moor Grange Estate began in 1955. It was originally owned by the local council, and was leased by the council to tenants as a council estate. Most of the housing on the estate is now privately owned. Moor Grange does not suffer the crime problems of other council estates. House prices on the estate are high, and Moor Grange is considered a 'model council estate'. This may be due to the affluence of the area in which it is situated. Moor Grange backs onto the smaller Spen Estate which is another council estate in West Park. The Estate falls within the Kirkstall ward of the Leeds Metropolitan Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meanwood Beck</span> Stream in West Yorkshire, England

The Meanwood Beck is a stream in West Yorkshire, England, which flows southwards through Adel, Meanwood and Sheepscar into the River Aire in central Leeds. Different portions of the same watercourse have been referred to as Adel Beck, Carr Beck, Lady Beck, Mabgate Beck, Sheepscar Beck, Timble Beck or Wortley Beck. The Meanwood Valley Trail footpath follows the line of the beck for much of its course.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Hill, Leeds</span> Human settlement in England

Richmond Hill is a district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The district lies a mile to the east of the city centre between York Road, East End Park and Cross Green. The appropriate City of Leeds ward is Burmantofts and Richmond Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinshill</span>

Tinshill is a district of Leeds, 4 miles (7 km) north of Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. It was the Danes in the 9th century who named the hill "Tyndr's Hyll".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Leeds accommodation</span>

This is a list of halls of residence both on and off campus at the University of Leeds in Leeds, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meanwood Valley Trail</span>

The Meanwood Valley Trail is a waymarked footpath and the title of an annual (March/April) footrace that takes place on parts of the trail in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It runs for a distance of 7 miles (11 km) from the statue of Henry Rowland Marsden, 1878, on Woodhouse Moor, close to the University of Leeds, through Headingley, Meanwood and Adel to Breary Marsh, Golden Acre Park, where it meets the Leeds Country Way. For most of its route it is the official Leeds link to the Dales Way. Along the way are signs giving information about the local wildlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Leeds</span> Buildings of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

The architecture of Leeds, a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, encompasses a wide range of architectural styles and notable buildings. As with most northern industrial centres, much of Leeds' prominent architecture is of the Victorian era. However, the City of Leeds also contains buildings from as early as the Middle Ages such as Kirkstall Abbey, one of Britain's best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries, as well as examples of 20th century industrial architecture, particularly in the districts of Hunslet and Holbeck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapel Allerton</span> Suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England

Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) from the city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodhouse Ridge</span>

Woodhouse Ridge is a strip of woodland on the South West hillside of the Meanwood valley in urban area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Locally known as 'The Ridge', the area is notable as a significant area of mature woodland in an otherwise highly developed urban area. The woods are centred at grid reference 53.820061, -1.560144 and are enclosed by Meanwood Road to the east and by Headingley to the north and Woodhouse, Leeds to the South.

Moortown is a ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It contains 36 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. All the listed buildings are designated at Grade II, the lowest of the three grades, which is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". The ward is to the north of the centre of Leeds, and contains the suburb of Moortown, the former village of Meanwood, and part of Moor Allerton. Most of the listed buildings are houses, cottages, and associated structures. The other listed buildings include a column, a well cover, former mill buildings, a church and a chapel and associated structures, a boundary stone, schools, and a war memorial.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 W. A. Hopwood (1981) Meanwood (private publication)
  2. ↑ Leeds Mercury 22 September 1888 Local Notes and Queries no 507: Meanwood Valley
  3. ↑ "Headingley Castle". www.leodis.net. Leeds City Council. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  4. ↑ Leeds Mercury 29 May 1886 "Local Notes and Queries"
  5. ↑ via digimap.edina.ac.uk (subscription required)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 W. A. Hopwood & F. P. Casperson (1986) Meanwood - Village, Valley, Industry and People
  7. ↑ Historic England. "Sugarwell Court (1375170)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  8. ↑ Leeds Mercury 6 April 1886 Leeds and Yorkshire Architectural Association
  9. ↑ "Meanwood Park Hospital 1919-1997" . Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  10. ↑ Wrathmell, Susan; Minnis, John (2005). Leeds. Pevsner architectural guides. Yale U.P. pp. 264–5. ISBN   0-300-10736-6.
  11. ↑ "Meanwood Towers". www.leodis.org. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  12. ↑ Brief History of the Armley-Schulze Organ Archived 15 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Leodis photographic archive of Leeds Carr Manor
  14. ↑ Leodis Carr Manor housing estate, aerial view
  15. ↑ Beckwith, F. "Sugarwell Hill". www.leodis.net. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  16. ↑ "Round House, (Sugarwell Hill Mill) Potternewton Mount". www.leodis.net. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  17. ↑ "Meanwood Road, Farm Hill Housing Estate". www.leodis.net. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  18. ↑ "Maps". Maps. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  19. ↑ "Headingley Hawks ARLFC". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  20. ↑ "Woodhouse Warriors RL". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  21. ↑ Holy Trinity Meanwood Archived 19 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Church website
  22. ↑ Historic England. "Church of Holy Trinity (1255585)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  23. ↑ Meanwood MC (at Holy Trinity Archived 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine , accessed 1 December 2015
  24. ↑ Iglesia ni Cristo Directory: Leeds [ permanent dead link ], accessed 7 July 2017
  25. ↑ "St. Oswald's Church". hollin.org.uk. St Chad's Church. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  26. ↑ "National Plant Collection of Philadelphus". National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens. Retrieved 26 May 2008.[ permanent dead link ]
  27. ↑ "Meanwood Valley Partnership". www.meanwoodvalleypartnership.co.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  28. ↑ "Meanwood Festival and Funday". www.meanwoodvalleypartnership.co.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  29. ↑ Meanwood Life - Community News, Meanwood Memorial gets a makeover
  30. ↑ Cynthia Ruston Over 100 Years of Cricket at Meanwood Archived 23 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  31. ↑ "Meanwood Cricket Club". Meanwood Cricket Club. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  32. ↑ "school-index.co.uk". www.school-index.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2019.[ permanent dead link ]
  33. ↑ Plaque to mark South Pole explorer Captain Oates BBC News, 17 March 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  34. ↑ "Summary Bibliography: Graham Holderness". isfdb.org. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.